Using DNA Methylation to Determine Lobster Age

Until fairly recently, it was impossible to accurately determine the age of a lobster found in the wild. This is one of a number of marine species that exhibits negligible senescence, meaning few signs of aging across the majority of its lifespan. How long can a lobster live? That used to be quite unclear until it was found that it is possible to count growth rings in the eye stalks in order to age specimens caught in the wild. There is an ongoing process of aging in this species, despite their negligible senescence, as demonstrated here. Researchers have been able to correlate lobster age to changes in DNA methylation, indicating that gene expression is changing over time in this species, and it is thus just as possible to produce an epigenetic clock for aging in this species as it is in the case of mammals.

Lobsters are notoriously difficult to age. Nobody knows exactly how old they can get, and some experts have estimated they could live on the ocean floor for as long as a century or more. "Until now, a lobster's age has usually been estimated using its size - but this is inaccurate as individual lobsters grow at different rates. For a long time, it appeared that there was no accurate way to quantify a lobster's age. Some research suggested that you could tell a lobsters age by counting the rings in parts of their eyestalks and stomach - a little like counting tree rings. But you can't do that for a living lobster."

"Lobsters have hard, inelastic shells and...

Source: Fight Aging! - September 30, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs